Nov
12
Helping The Sin of Others
November 12, 2007 |
Have you ever caused someone else to sin? Have you ever failed to stop someone from sinning?
If we have, then Christ wants to have a word with us.
In today’s gospel (Luke 17:1-6), Christ warns “[t]hings that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.” In other words, do not cause another to sin. There is no such thing as just letting things be.
And yet this lesson can be one of the most difficult to put into practice. We don’t want to mettle or interfere. A man’s life is his life. Everyone has a different moral code and makes different choices. What is good for me may not be good for someone else.
OK fine, but where’s the line? In some instances, the line is obvious - we do drugs in front of an addict, offer a drink to a recovering alcoholic, or try to hook up the girl at the end of the bar with a friend struggling in his marriage - well, we are obviously contributing to a sin.
But, how about if we try to persuade a co-worker to make a borderline ethical decision? How about if we crack a joke about a friend who is going to a service at Church instead of to the bars? How about if a friend confides in us that he wants to cheat on his wife and we do nothing to convince him otherwise?
Or, how about if we neglect our wives or our children and they end up making bad moral choices? How about if we fail to help someone and they are forced to make bad choices in order to get through? How about if we embarrass or cajole a friend into doing something he doesn’t want to do?
In other words, peer pressure is a powerful and destructive force - neglect is an equally powerful and destructive force. And through peer pressure, neglect and looking the other way, we can lead others to sin or fail to prevent them from committing sin.
And according to today’s gospel, Christ will hold us accountable.
God sends folks into our lives to influence us - we are sent into other’s lives to influence them. Let’s ensure that this influence is positive and that we do not fail in our responsibility to give support to our brothers and sisters in Christ - to help them live a faithful and pure life.
Christ is expecting as much from us and we better not fail - or we will be the one’s on the hook.
